Tsoureki

A richly enriched, deeply aromatic Greek Easter bread: three ropes of buttery, yeasted dough braided together and baked until mahogany-golden, scented with mahlab cherry seeds and mastic resin from the island of Chios. Tsoureki tears open in soft, cotton-like strands and is the most perfumed bread in the world.

Origin: Greece & Constantinople

From the journey of Wheat.

Tsoureki traces back to Byzantine Constantinople (modern Istanbul), where the Greek Christian community baked enriched breads for religious celebrations. The name derives from Turkish "çörek": a category of sweet breads shared across Turkish, Greek, Armenian and Balkan cuisines. The use of mahlab (ground cherry pit kernels) and mastic (crystallised resin from Pistacia lentiscus trees on Chios) as flavourings is uniquely Greek-Byzantine and creates the bread's unmistakable perfume: a fragrance that Greeks of the diaspora identify instantly as home. At Easter, tsoureki is traditionally baked with a dyed red egg pressed into the centre.

Ingredients

  • 600 g strong white bread flour
  • 14 g active dry yeast
  • 200 ml warm milk
  • 150 g sugar
  • 150 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 tsp mahlab (ground cherry pits)
  • 0.5 tsp mastic resin, ground with sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • for egg wash Egg yolk + milk
  • for topping Flaked almonds

Method

  1. Dissolve yeast in warm milk with 1 tbsp sugar. Leave 5 minutes. Combine flour, remaining sugar, salt, mahlab and mastic in a bowl.
  2. Add the yeast liquid and eggs to the flour. Mix to a dough. Knead for 8 minutes.
  3. Gradually incorporate the softened butter, a small piece at a time, kneading until fully absorbed. This takes 10–12 minutes; the dough will be very rich and silky.
  4. Cover and prove at room temperature for 2–3 hours until doubled. Refrigerate overnight for best flavour.
  5. Bring to room temperature (1 hour). Divide into 3 ropes. Braid loosely and place on a lined baking sheet. Prove for a further 1.5 hours.
  6. Brush with egg wash, scatter with flaked almonds. Bake at 170°C/340°F for 30–35 minutes until deep mahogany. Cool completely before tearing.
The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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